Catch you on the Flip Side
by uo-chou
Summary: The Kyuubi is detected three days travel from Konoha, instead of one. This changes the world. Kushina doesn't die. Madara is killed by Yondaime. Uchihas disgraced. Namikazes exhaulted. Kyuubi fully sealed. Naruto and Sauske's social standings reversed.
1. Chapter 1

Catch you on the Flip Side

Chapter I: Training with Mom

Naruto smiled as he stood still in training ground forty-seven. In his right hand swirled a perfectly formed Rasengan. "Rasengan!" he yelled, as he leaped forward, driving the A-Rank attack ninjutsu into a training post. Where the swirling ball of destructive chakra landed, the wood of the training post disintegrated completely, pulverized into it's component atoms by the technique. The entire middle of the post was consumed, and the top teetered for a moment before it fell toward the young boy. Naruto smirked as the top of the post dropped toward his head, and at the last moment reinforced his leg with chakra and kicked the post away from him. It soared through the air, landing several meters from where he stood.

From behind him, his mother Namikaze Kushina smiled. Her nine year old son was becoming such a good ninja. Not that she would ever tell his that outright, though. The child seemed to not only adore any praise given to him, he also used it to feed his already inflated ego. He already saw himself as a prodigy with the potential to surpass his father, the Yondaime Hokage, and each compliment on his ninja skills only seemed to inflate his sense of self worth. Kushina doled out her praise in very small quantities, if at all, in order to try and make him humble. She was quick with punishments and criticisms as well, for the same reason. Despite all of that, she had to admit that Naruto was still a good boy, nearly always doing what was right, once he managed to penetrate the fog of his own greatness.

"Naruto!" she snapped. "Why did you let the log fall toward your head?" He frowned at his mother.

"I was setting it up for the kick. I wanted it to land to my right. He pointed at the half-smashed log lying far to his right."

Kushina frowned again. "What if there had been enemy shinobi nearby? A fancy stunt like that might look cool, but it could get you killed in a real battle. We are ninja, not exhibition fighters. We take the safest and most efficient route to our goals, not the flashiest looking. Next time if you your father's technique on the training post, you will make sure to control it's fall away from you, so you do not have to kick it away. Do you understand?"

Naruto kept his frown, but nodded. "Yes, Mother," he replied. He understood, but he loved to showboat his skills. There wasn't a single academy student anywhere near his skill level, not even the seniors, and he loved to show off his power. When he impressed people, they smiled at him and wanted to make friends. Some of the crazy girls at the academy had even made a Naruto fan club! He pretended to barely tolerate it, but in actuality, he thought having his own fan club was awesome.

Kushina smiled once more. "Now, we'll review the various bunshin," she stated. "What is a bunshin technique?" she asked her son.

"A bunshin technique creates a clone of the person performing the jutsu, composed of either chakra or an element." replied Naruto in a bored tone of voice. He had been over this countless times.

"Good." said Kushina. "Now, name all of the known Bunshin jutsu, their element, if any, and their strengths and weaknesses."

Naruto thought for a moment. "Well, there is the standard bunshin technique, the Bunshin no Jutsu. It's an E-Rank technique which creates an intangible copy that can only be dispelled by the caster, or by being bombarded with a stronger chakra technique, which is any technique really since it's very weak. It's only good for confusing and distracting enemies. It's usually only used by genin because it's so easy to detect and dispel. It works great on civilians, though." He thought for another moment. "The other chakra-only bunshin is the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, which is A-Rank. It creates a clone composed of a chakra reinforced shell filled with a real chakra circulatory system. They can perform ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu, and are capable of independent thought. Physically, they are almost as strong and as fast as their creator. There are two variations of this technique, the first of which is the standard Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, which creates a single heavily reinforced clone capable of taking several hits before dispelling depending on the endurance and chakra capacity of the caster. It's downside is that is requires half of the total chakra reserves of the caster, draining them to 50 percent or less when used. It cannot be used more than once, or the caster will suffer fatal or near-fatal chakra exhaustion." Naruto paused for a moment. "The second variation is the Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, which creates a variable number of clones, determined by how much chakra is used to perform the jutsu and the caster's chakra control. The clones created from this technique are much less durable, dispelling in only one strike, but they have all the other advantages of the primary technique. They are good for fighting large numbers of opponents who are on a lower level than the caster, and for training. They are weak against ninja who specialize in area of effect techniques, though they are great against a single taijutsu specialist."

Kushina was impressed, though she fought not to show it. She was continually amazed that Naruto took the time to not only read every scroll she suggested to him, but also to go back and study them regularly to make sure his knowledge was complete. It also helped that he knew the Kage Bunshin technique, which she had taught him two years before as a training aid. Because of that technique he was able to take in knowledge at a phenomenal rate, and perfect jutsu very quickly.

"Good job, Naruto," she said in a normal tone of voice. "Now, how about elemental clones?"

Naruto smiled. "There are clones for both of the solid elements, water and earth. There are no wind, fire, or lightning clones, however, as those elements are too chaotic to create a solid construct out of. Water clones take hardly any chakra or control to create, and can be made with a single one-handed seal. An average genin could create ten or more water clones. However, they also have many weaknesses. They can only travel a limited distance from their creator before they are dispelled, and physically they are less than 10% as strong as their maker. They can be dispelled by a single strike like a Tajuu Kage Bunshin. Unlike Kage Bunshin, the chakra from the technique does not return to the caster when they are dispelled or their memory, so they cannot be used for training. Their worst weakness is that like most water techniques, they require a large source of water to be very near the caster. The farther away the source or water, or the more scarce it is, the more chakra this technique takes, making it worthless in dry climates. They are very useful for close quarters weapons users, as many of them can be made easily and weapons are replicated out of water as well, including any special properties the weapons may have."

Kushina nodded, and motioned with her hand for the blond haired boy to continue.

"The earth clone, or Tsuchi Bunshin no Jutsu, is very different from the water clone. They take more chakra to create than fifty water clones, at least. They are made of solid or semi-solid earth, sand, rock, or other inert substance. The denser and heavier the substance the caster chooses to make them from, the more chakra they take to create. Their durability also depends on what substance they are made from. An earth clone made of mud takes the least amount of chakra, about as much as a single Tajuu Kage Bunshin. They can take much more damage than even a reinforced Kage Bunshin, and are the only bunshin that is physically stronger than the caster. The stronger the substance they are made of and the more chakra poured into the jutsu, the stronger the bunshin. Tsuchi Bunshin can only use taijutsu and non-elemental ninjutsu, like the replacement and summoning techniques. Like water bunshin, they do not have a real mind, but using an optional seal when casting the jutsu allows for a weak mental link between the caster and the Tsuchi Bunshin, permitting the caster to relay instructions to the bunshin and for the caster to see and hear what it experiences. Usually, only Jounin and above can create Tsuchi Bunshin, because of their chakra requirements." Naruto paused, looking his mother in the eye. "I suspect there are other bunshin techniques, but these are the only ones I know so far."

Kushina smiled. "That's very good Naruto. There are other bunshin techniques, one of which is the insect clone technique, created by the Aburame clan here in Konoha. There are also several genjutsu techniques which create clones, though they aren't real replications. I too suspect there are several more bunshin techniques that I haven't previously heard of, though I can't even guess what they would be. Tomorrow we will continue your katas, and then have a review of the replacement technique and similar jutsu. I want you to review those techniques after dinner tonight, so that you are ready for them."

Naruto smiled. "Does that mean we're done for today, Mom?" He really wanted to go hang out with his friends and impress his fan club. He loved to train and get stronger, but he also liked to socialize and show off his skills. His best friends Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji were expecting him to come and visit this afternoon, and he didn't want to disappoint them.

"You're all done for today, Naruto. Make sure you're home for dinner tonight, and don't forget to eat all your snacks this afternoon as well," replied Kushina. Because of Naruto's massive chakra reserves, he had to eat at least 10-15 thousand calories a day to replenish them, depending on how much chakra he used. Kushina made him carry around a storage scroll with dozens of huge home made meals, and eat one of them every few hours. His favorite food of all time was ramen, but he was not allowed to eat it very often, as it contained mostly empty calories and almost no vitamins or minerals.

Kushina walked up to Naruto and gave him a hug and kiss goodbye. "Eew, Mom!" exclaimed the nine year old academy student. He stuck his tongue out at her, then ran toward town, smiling and laughing. Kushina smiled to herself as he ran off to meet his friends.

------

Author's Note:

I appear to be on a writing streak, so I'm going with it. I don't know if this story will be any good or not, I guess that's for you folks to decide. The general outline for this story is in my "What If" story, which contains descriptions of stories I would like to write. I'm planning for this story to be a pretty standard "powerful!Naruto" story with a twist--Uchiha Sauske and Naruto's social standings, and place in Konoha are for all intents and purposes switched. This will lead to many interesting events unfolding, I hope, and much hilarity.

P.S.: Please read and review! I am hungry for feedback.


	2. Chapter 2

Catch you on the Flip Side

Chapter II: Living in an Unsightly Manner

Ten year-old Uchiha Sauske wore a blank expression as he walked through the streets of Konoha. Class had just been let out at the Konoha Academy, and he was on his way home from school. As always, class had been an almost worthless exercise, seemingly designed with the single goal of humiliating him. The first part of class had been a test of the bunshin no jutsu, and as always when there was a ninjutsu or genjutsu being practiced, he had been forced to wear a blindfold to prevent him from stealing it. No matter that the academy jutsus were taught to every ninja, including him, the teachers were not only under orders by the council to do it, they enjoyed every minute of it. Ever since he could remember, Sauske had been ridiculed, mocked and held back for the sins of his mostly-dead clan. It was only through a loophole that he was able to become a shinobi at all. The council had come close to demanding that he not be allowed to become a ninja, but the Hokage had interceded on his behalf. Sarutobi, unknowingly or not, had gained the boy's loyalty with that one act.

Sauske always kept his expression carefully blank when he was around people outside of his family. At first he through smiling at everyone and acting cheerful would make them like him, but he was in for a rude awakening. Four years ago, at the age of six, he had been at one of Konoha's many parks, trying to make friends outside of his clan, wearing the mask of a cheerful idiot.

~~Flashback~~

Sauske had approached a group of four older academy students, hopeful that they would at least tolerate him, unlike most of his current classmates. Instead, they treated him to the worst beating he had ever received in his life, then or now. Being a student in his first year at the academy, Sauske stood no chance. As the student who was acting as the ringleader sneered that he was going to eliminate one more 'traitorous Uchiha' and swung at him with a kunai, Sauske realized that he was about to die. A dormant part of his brain, the portion that controlled his doujutsu, strongly protested that. Suddenly the bullies leapt backward, the leader screaming in fear and panic, his arm broken. Sauske realized that he had not only avoided the kunai, he had also seized an opening he somehow detected and instinctively using chakra to augment his muscles, he had snapped the older boy's arm like a twig. He looked around, wide-eyed, at a new world he saw before him. Everything stood out in striking detail, and he noticed millions of tiny things his eyes and mind had previously overlooked. Sauske realized that he had just awoken his sharingan. His antagonists gaped at him in surprise and fear.

"Demon-eye!" one of them suddenly shouted. "He's using the demon-eye! Get a jounin, we have to kill him before it corrupts his mind and he kills us all!" the older students, as well as all of the civilians in the park began to rush away. The few people who were left, shinobi who had stood by calmly watching the beating he received, slowly approached him, battle stances ready.

"Stand down, _Uchiha_," one of them, a scar-nosed chuunin wearing a ponytail commanded. Sauske's surname had been said as if it were a particularly vulgar curse word. "I would love to kill you, traitor-spawn, but the Hokage would have my head for sure if I attacked you unprovoked. So, deactivate those disgusting eyes, and lay face-first on the ground, or I'll destroy you." Sauske could literally feel the hate radiating off of this man. The other two ninja behind him were not much better, their own dislike written across their faces. He didn't know the reason for the hatred, but he wasn't a genius for nothing, and he guessed the chuunin had lost someone important during the attempted Uchiha rebellion, or something along those lines.

"Shinobi-san, I don't know how to turn them off!" the young boy cried in panic. He still dropped to his knees, and lay on his stomach, staring at the ground. His new eyes saw the millions of tiny perforations in the soil, and caught sight of several varieties of nearly microscopic creatures burrowing through them. The next thing he knew was blinding pain as his nose was jammed against the ground with enough force to break it, and a pair of knees were digging into his small shoulder blades. The child's arms were pulled behind him with almost enough force to dislocate them, and his wrists were harshly bound with what felt like ninja wire. His ankles were tied together in a similar manner. Someone tore a part of his shirt off, and used it to blindfold him. Then he felt a sharp blow to the head and lost consciousness.

The next thing he knew, he awoke, still bound and blindfolded, in what sounded like a very crowded room. He could hear low voices speaking with each other, but could not make out any words.

"The Uchiha has awakened," said someone very near him. Sauske sat up straighter. He realized he was bound to a chair. His young mind was filled with terror; he had no idea what was happening.

"See if it.. _he_ still has the doujutsu activated, Inu-san," commanded another voice.

The blindfold was partially lifted from his face, and he found himself staring into a single red sharingan eye. His blindfold was then lowered back into place.

"It's deactivated. I told you before, when they loose consciousness it automatically turns off," spoke the man sitting next to him. Sauske wonder how someone else had his family's doujutsu. It wasn't natural, judging from the scar over the eye socket. He wondered if he had stolen it from a dead Uchiha after the coup attempt.

"I just wanted to make sure. Even someone as young as him can make trouble using those eyes," spoke the same voice as before. "Keep him blindfolded, in case he decides to activate it." The voice was elderly, but with an undertone of steel in it. Sauske mentally dubbed him 'Asshat'. He may have been a genius, but no one ever said his creativity was up to par. Besides, the young Uchiha didn't like this man at all.

'Asshat' spoke again, "I hereby call this civilian tribunal to order. As a member of the council of elders, I, Homura Mitokado, will be acting as a today. This trial is to settle the matter of an attack on sixth year academy student Yoroi Akado by first year academy student Uchiha Sauske. Representing the interest of the injured party is Haruno Setsume, a representative of the Konoha civilian's council. Representing the accused is Uchiha Joyobin, retired barber and grand-uncle of the alleged delinquent, as well as the jounin Hatake Kakashi. Let the injured party speak first."

Sauske heard a chair scrape the floor, and someone stand up. A female voice spoke out, from the other side of the courtroom, "Earlier today, Yoroi Akado was peacefully playing in the southwestern memorial park with a group of his friends when he was surprised from behind by Uchiha Sauske and savagely beaten with no provocation, resulting in severe bruising and a broken arm. When his friends tried to help, the Uchiha threatened to kill them and their families if they interfered. I have written testimony from the classmates he was with corroborating his story, as well as confirmation from several civilians present at the time. All of the witnesses present also report that he activated the 'demon-eye', and used it to help him with his attack. It is clear that with the awakening of his cursed bloodline, Uchiha Sauske is beginning to go insane, and should not be allowed to become a shinobi. I also recommend his banishment from Konoha for the cruelty and severity of his attack. I have spoken my piece."

During the speech, Sauske had first been extremely angry, and then horrified. He tried to cry out in protest, but he found himself gagged as well. He tried to struggle against his bindings, but they were too tight. He had to tell these people the truth!

There was a pause of several minutes, and then the arbiter spoke again, "I have heard your words, representative for the injured party. Let now speak the representative for the accused."

Sauske felt a large, firm hand briefly give his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, and then his Uncle was speaking. "Today, my grand-nephew Uchiha Sauske left our home to go out and play. I heard him tell his older brother he was going out to once again try and make some friends. I have reports from three chuunin as well as two civilians who were present at the southwestern memorial park today during the time of the incident. They describe a very different scene from the one Haruno-san just told you about. Uchiha Sauske approached a group consisting of Yoroi Akado and three of his classmates, to ask if he could play ninja with them. He was then savagely beaten by all four of them, inflicting three cracked ribs, a fractured left foot, severe bruising, and two defensive kunai wounds to his left arm. Sauske is only six years old, and a first year academy student. Yoroi Akado is eighteen years old, and has had a combined total of eight years of academy training. The other students involved in the incident are all over twelve, having a combined total of over twenty years of ninja experience. They beat Sauske almost to death and you accuse this small boy of attacking them unprovoked? He is only six years old, and at the bottom of his class at the academy. There is no way he would assault four older students for no reason. Even the chuunin who apprehended him, Umino Iruka, said that the other boys started the fight. Despite all of the signed testimonies Haruno-san has, common sense says that the story she presented must be false. I will now yield the floor to my co-representative, Hatake Kakashi."

Joyobin sat down, and Hatake stood up. Sauske recognized the voice of the sharingan user from before speaking. "Arbiter, you are a former shinobi, and have seen ninjas using the sharingan before. I submit to you that there is no way a new academy student with no clan training whatsoever could take on even one sixth-year academy student, even using a kekkei genkai. This boy is not even four feet tall! He could not have physically done the things civilian councilor Haruno described. I tell you, that the allegations against Uchiha Sauske are lies, created to punish him for actions his clan took before he was even born. The true aggressors in this matter are obviously the older students. They are the ones who should be on trial, for attacking this child. I have spoken my piece."

During Kakashi's speech, many of the spectators in the courtroom had begun muttering angrily, and Homura had shifted his expression to one of stern warning. By the end of the silver haired jounin's defense many in the room were glaring at him angrily.

Homura spoke, "I have heard the words of the injured part and of the accused. I will now give my decision." He paused for a few moments, as if in thought. "I find that Uchiha Sauske is the guilty party in this matter."

Joyobin and Kakashi surged to their feet and began protesting, even as many in the courtroom cheered. Haruno Setsumi work smirked at the two adults standing next to Sauske.

Homura clapped his hands, amplifying the sounds with chakra. It was deafening. "Silence!" he roared. "The reason I find Uchiha Sauske to be guilty is through the preponderance of witness statements supporting Haruno-san's story. I refuse to believe that more than twenty people would in a trial. I have seen exceptional genin before, and I know the power of the sharingan. I don't, however, believe that this was an entirely one-sided fight, mostly due to the Uchiha's injuries. I will be recommending that Yoroi Akado and the other students in his company that day stand trial for minor assault as well."

There were roars of protest, and Homura once again had to silence everyone before he could resume speaking. "As for the punishment… I would like to order Uchiha Sauske's sharingan permanently sealed and his removal from the ninja academy, but I have no authority to do so, as this is a civilian matter. I will instead order that Sauske be placed on probation. The terms of his probation will consist of him being blindfolded or removed from the vicinity whenever another Konoha ninja performs ninjutsu, genjutsu, or taijutsu, unless he gets their express permission to witness it. This will be applicable to all Konoha citizens, or guests within the walls of the village, and will last as long as he is under the jurisdiction of Konoha civilian law. If he uses his sharingan against a Konoha-nin… he will be banished for life."

The audience cheered wildly.

~~End Flashback~~

That day was the beginning of the end for Sauske's ninja career. Ever since that sham of a trial he hadn't been able to even look at a Konoha-nin while they were performing a technique. He had discovered to his horror that this included his academy instructors and classmates as well, making his progress in the ninja arts come to a near standstill compared to other ninjas his age. No one would give him permission to look upon them in training, and by the time he was eight he had stopped asking. He was still able to practice the taijutsu techniques from textbooks and scrolls, so he began training himself into the ground every day, improving his body as much as he could. His book on chakra theory and the basic academy ninjutsu was stolen one day while he was in the hall serving a punishment, and he the teachers claimed there was no replacement available for him, so he was unable to make any progress in that area at all.

Despite the ten hours of physical training he subjected himself to each day, he was never able to win a single taijutsu spar at the academy, due to one fact. The stipulations of his parole stated that he was unable to view _any_ Konoha citizen performing taijutsu, and this included his sparring partners, and so he was made to fight blindfolded. After the first match, he began training blindfolded, trying to find a way to win. When he started getting better at using his other senses, and was able to win a spar against one of his opponents this way, things changed again, for the worse. Every time there was a spar, now, he felt others entering the circle and lashing out at him, even the instructors sometimes. They made sure he walked away from each spar with as many injuries as they could plausibly allow. He was lucky that his second-cousin Uchiha Tsetse was a civilian doctor, because he required constant treatment for bruises, cuts, and fractures.

Sauske wasn't stupid, in fact he was a genius. He knew that his instructors were engaging in a program of sabotage designed to make him quit from the Konoha ninja forces. He knew that his life would be a lot easier if he just stopped being a ninja and accepted a civilian life like his other family members, but he had promised himself long ago that he would never quit. His father and the other Uchiha ninjas had dishonored themselves and his entire clan in the eyes of Konoha, and as the first Uchiha ninja since that day, he had sworn to himself that he would regain honor for his clan, and prove to everyone in the Leaf that the Uchihas were worthy of trust and respect.

Uchiha Sauske's secret dream was to one day become Hokage, and he would find a way to do so, even if it took eternity. It was his nindo to never give up, after all.

Author's Note:

Chapter II of 'Catch you on the Flip Side' is now done. I decided I was in a writin' mood, and ideas were still brewing for 'Rise of a Science-Nin', so I pounded out another chapter of this guy right here. I don't really care for cannon!Sauske as a character, he's far too single minded and emotionally one-dimensional, but I'm having a blast writing this Sauske. Expect some enormous changes from cannon as this story progresses, as Uchiha Madara was killed during the Kyuubi invasion in the AU. Anyhow, I hope you folks decide to review, as it's a huge incentive for me to write more. Catch you next time.


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